Coke oven pushing and charging machine and method

ABSTRACT

A combined coke oven pushing and charging machine is supported on tracks for movement along the front of a bank of coke ovens and is operable to open an oven door, push the coke from the open oven, and close the oven door, and to open the door of an adjacent empty oven, charge the oven with a uniform, level, compact charge of coal, and close the door. The machine is then moved along the track a distance equal to the width of one oven, a second oven is pushed, and the oven previously pushed is charged. The pusher head is provided with roller supports adapted to roll along the oven floor during the pushing operation, and the head is water cooled to prevent warping and damage by the intense heat of the coke. The coal is deposited into the empty ovens by a drag-type endless chain conveyer having a width substantially equal to the width of the coking chambers and which is telescoped into the oven from the pusher door opening. The generally horizontal cantilevered conveyer simultaneously fills, levels, and compacts the coal in the coking chamber.

United States Patent [191 Thompson I [111 3,784,034 Jan. 8, 1974 COKEOVEN PUSHING AND CHARGING MACHINE AND METHOD [76] Inventor: Buster RayThompson, Rt. No. l,

Lowes Ferry Pike, Louisville, Tenn. 37777 221 Filed: Apr.4, 1972 21Appl. No.: 240,937

Primary ExaminerRobert G. Sheridan Attorney-Francis C. Browne et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A combined coke oven pushing and charging machine issupported on tracks for movement along the front of a bank of coke ovensand is operable to open an oven door, push the coke from the open oven,and close the oven door, and to open the door of an adjacent empty oven,charge the oven with a uniform, level, compact charge of coal, and closethe door. The machine is then moved along the track a distance equal tothe width of one oven, a second oven is pushed, and the oven previouslypushed is charged. The pusher head is provided with roller supportsadapted to roll along the oven floor during the pushing operation, andthe head is water cooled to prevent warping and damage by the intenseheat of the coke. The coal is deposited into the empty ovens by adragtype endless chain conveyer having a width substantially equal tothe width of the coking chambers and which is telescoped into the ovenfrom the pusher door opening. The generally horizontal cantileveredconveyer simultaneously fills, levels, and compacts the coal in thecoking chamber.

20 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures E 5 a a a 2 ON a .KxkY i 3 E a m 3% N2 8 1mm 4 iiiii. 11111 |i m 8 N; 2% 5?. w 7 EN MWNM 3 a Q s a: Q

I N Q I s m 8 I I I I I 1 l I l I I I I I I I I 1 I I I I I I l I a u nE ell N I I u I 1 I I a I I m P am 2w 5 an 9 mm a PATENIEBJAN 8 I974SHEEI 2 0F 9 we a on s a g A 3 3 5 3 J ||||V 1%]! i a! E 1 E i X HW-.-ma m 0 E PATENTEB JAN 8 I974 SHEEI 3 0F 9 PATENTEUJAR a 1914 3794,0534

saw u or 9 PATENYEU JAN 8 I974 SHEEI 5 BF 9 COKE OVEN PUSHING ANDCHARGING MACHINE AND METHOD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for usein the production of coke, and more particularly to an improved methodof an apparatus for handling coke oven doors, pushing coke from ovens,and charging the ovens with a uniform, level, compact charge of coal.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the operation of banks of modern,nonregenerative coking ovens, the conventional practice is to charge theindividual ovens, through charging holes in their tops, from cars whichrun along rails on the top of the bank of ovens. These cars carryhoopers which are normally filled with enough coal to completely chargean oven. Since the charging holes are spaced along the length of theovens, the top surface of the charge of coal, as deposited, is unevenand must be leveled within the hot ovens to prevent uneven coking.

The coal charges are leveled in the coking chamber by an elongated,substantially horizontal, cantilevered leveling bar which is telescopedinto the coking chamber through a leveling bar opening in the oven doorand moved back and forth over the top of the charge until the charge ismore or less level. The bar is then withdrawn, the leveling bar openingis closed, and the coking process continues.

In view of the size of modern coking ovens, which may be in excess of 50feet in length and up to l l feet in width, it is readily seen that thecars employed to charge such ovens would necessarily be extremely heavy.The live weight of the cars, when loaded with a charge of 25 to 40 tonsof coal or more, would put substantial stress on the bank of ovens.

The use of a leveling bar to level a charge of coke in an oven,particularly the modern, large, nonregenerative ovens, has not beenentirely satisfactory for several reasons. In the first place, theleveling operation is time consuming and permits substantial heat lossfrom the oven as a result of the oven being open during the levelingoperation. Further, the very large, wide ovens in use today are verydifficult to level by passing a cantilevered bar projecting from itsmobile support infront of the bank of ovens, back and forth over thesurface of the charge in the oven. The tendency of such long levelingbars to droop toward the back of the oven tends to produce an unevencharge, and to compact the coal to a greater extent toward the back ofthe oven. Also, withdrawing the pusher bar from the hot oven invariablydrags a quantity of coal out of the oven through the pusher opening.This coal may be ignited from the intense heat of the oven, a fact whichfurther complicates the task of cleaning up or removing the coal.

Once the coking process is completed, a pushing machine which movesalong tracks in front of the bank of ovens (and which normally supportsthe leveling bar) is positioned in front of the particular oven, and thefront (pusher) and rear (coke) doors of the oven are removed. A largeram having a pusher head substantially the width of the coking chamberis forced through the pusher door opening and into contact with the cakeof hot coke in the oven. Sufficient force is applied to the ram to forcethe cake of coke through the coking chamber and out the coke door into ahot car or other suitable receptacle positioned adjacent the coke door.Immediately upon receiving the charge of incandescent coke, the hot caris transferred to a quenching shed where the coke is quenched withwater.

The intense heat of the coke, and of the oven walls, is extremelydamaging to the pusher head. Even though these heads are normallyconstructed of heavy, heatresistant alloy steels, the extremetemperatures and heavy loads to which they are subjected resultsin theirquickly becoming warped and distorted, frequently to the extent thatthey do not do a good job of pushing the coke from the oven. In normaluse, a pusher head of conventional construction may have a lifeexpectancy of six weeks or less.

Numerous attempts have been made in the past to overcome thedifficulties in charging and pushing coke ovens by the conventionalprocess. For example, numerous devices have been proposed forside-loading the ovens, i.e., loading the ovens through the pusher door,or through the leveler bar opening in the pusher door. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,981 discloses a centrifugal blower structure forblowing coal into an oven through the normal leveler bar opening in thepusher door. While such a device may be useful in charging the cokingchamber of a narrow regenerative retort (which may have a total width onthe order of 18 inches), it can not be employed to deposit a uniform,level charge of coal in a large, nonrecovery oven which may have a widthof from six to 11 feet, or more, and a length of from 30 to more than 50feet. Further, even if the discharge end of a centrifugal blower conduitcould be controlled accurately enough to deposit a level charge in sucha large oven, the time required to charge the oven would beprohibitively long, and the intense heat of the oven, which may be ashigh as 2,000 to 2,600F during the charging operation, would soondestroy the conveyer structure. Also, such a device would be totallyineffective in compacting the top surface of the charge of coal.

Other side-loading devices, including screw-type conveyers, centrifugalthrowers, andendless chain conveyers, have also been proposed to avoidthe defects of the conventional top-loading process; however, thesedevices generally have been unsuccessful, with the result that theprevelant current practice is still to charge the ovens through the topas described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing and other defects of the priorart methods and apparatus for pushing and charging coking ovens areovercome in accordance with the present invention by an integratedapparatus for pushing, charging, leveling and compacting largenonregenerative coking ovens. This is accomplished in an extremely quickand efficient manner, leaving the ovens open for a minimum of time tothereby conserve heat in the ovens during the pushing and chargingoperations and to minimize the smoke and other pollutants dischargedinto the atmosphere during these operations. The apparatus is designedto move on tracks in front of and parallel to the bank of ovens in amanner similar to the conventional pushing and leveling machines, and isadapted to either alternately push one oven and charge the adjacent ovenwithout moving the machine, or to push and subsequently charge a singleoven.

The pushing and charging machine of this invention includes a large,self-propelled car structure having a width sufficient to span thefronts of two adjacent ovens in a bank. A pair of door handlingmechanisms are positioned to engage and remove the pusher doors fromeach of two adjacent ovens without requiring the apparatus to be movedalong its supporting track. The first door handling mechanism is adaptedto remove and support the door of an oven in an elevated position topermit the pusher ram to move therebeneath and into the pusher end ofthe oven. The pusher head is equipped with roller support means whichengages and rolls along the floor of the oven to maintain the lower edgeof the pusher head in slightly spaced relation above the floor tothereby avoid damage to the oven floor while assuring that all of thecoke is pushed therefrom. To prevent damage to the pusher head from theextreme heat of the incandescent coke in the oven as it is being pushed,cooling water is circulated through a system of channels in the pusherhead. Water is supplied to these channels through conduits extendingalong the hollow pusher arms employed to support and push the headthrough the oven. As soon as the coke is pushed from the oven, thepusher ram is withdrawn and the oven doors are closed to preserve theheat in the oven.

The second door lifting mechanism is adapted to remove and support thedoor of the adjacent oven in an elevated position to permit the chargingof the oven .through the open door. Immediately upon opening the door, afalse door, having a height equal to the height of the charge of coal tobe deposited in the oven, is positioned in the door opening to act as abarrier to prevent the charge of coal from flowing out of the open door.The false door is mounted on the forward edge of a movable, horizontalplatform or bridge which extends from the false door to a positionbeneath a coal hopper mounted upon the movable car structure. Themovable platform is substantially the same width as the width of thecoke chamber of the oven to be filled.

An endless drag-type conveyer is supported on the apparatus for movementinto and out of the open end of the oven to be charged. The conveyerincludes a pair of parallel, laterally spaced chains each supported formovement about an endless path on a separate side beam which, in turn,is supported as a movable cantilever beam for projection above thelateral edges of the movable platform and into the coking chamber of theoven along the sidewalls thereof. A plurality of parallel bars havetheir opposed ends fixed to the conveyer chains for movement therewithto drag a charge of coal from the hopper over the movable platform andinto the oven. By driving the conveyer chains to convey coal into theoven as the conveyer is being telescoped into the open oven, the oven isfilled from the pusher end thereof so that the charge of coal, engagingthe parallel drage bars, supports a substantial portion of the weight ofthe cantilevered conveyer structure. At the same time, the weight of theconveyer structure, acting through the parallel bars, compacts thecharge of coal throughout the length of the oven. Further, since theconveyer structure is substantially the same width as the cokingchamber, the parallel horizontally extending bars moving over the top ofthe charge completely levels the charge of coal in the oven throughoutthe full length and width of the charge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the methodand apparatus according to the present invention will become apparentfrom the detailed description hereinbelow, taking in conjunction withthe drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in section, of a front loading,nonregenerative coke oven with the pushing and charging apparatus of thepresent invention positioned in front thereof;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view, in elevation, of a portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the structure shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a further enlarged, top plan view of the left door lifting andthe coke pushing portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 and showing the right door liftingand the coal conveying portions of the apparatus;

FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the structure shown in FIG. 5, withcertain elements shown in an alternate position;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevation view of the pusher head, with portionsbroken away to more clearly show other portions thereof;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line l0l0 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the portion of the structure shown inFIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, with certain of the elements shownin an alternate position;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 13-13 of FIG. 12;and

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 12, and illustrating the conveyermechanism being moved into the coking chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsin detail, the pushing and charging apparatus according to the presentinvention is indicated generally in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the referencednumeral 10 and is illustrated in position in front of a bank ofnonregenerating coking ovens 12. The machine 10 includes a generallyrectangular frame assembly 14 including a plurality of transverselyextending beams 16 having their opposed ends rigidly welded to a pair oflongitudinally extending girder assemblies 18. As best seen in FIG. 4,the front girder assembly 18, i.e., the one closest to the front of theovens, is supported on the cooperating track 26 by three flanged wheels20 mounted, as by axles, or shafts 22, supported by pillow blocks 24.The wheels 20 are mounted one adjacent each end of the girder assemblyand one near the middle thereof. The rear girder assembly 18 issupported by similar flanged wheels 20 each mounted on a pinion shaft 27supported on the bottom surface of the rear girder assembly 18 by a pairof journal bearings 28. A sprocket 30 mounted on the end of one of thepinions 27 is driven by a suitable drive chain 32 to propel the assemblyalong the track 26. To assure adequate traction to move the heavyapparatus, a second sprocket 34 is mounted on the inner end of thedriven pinion shaft 27, and a second chain 36 extending therearoundengages and drives a similar sprocket on the rear center drive wheelpinion, not shown. Power to propel the apparatus along the track issupplied by an electric motor 38, acting through a suitable reductiongear mechanism 40 to drive a sprocket 42 which, in turn, drives thechain 32. As indicated in FIG. 3, the drive pinions 27 are coupled tothe axles 24 through an elongated, flanged axle member 44. Preferably,the reduction gear 40 is a variable speed, reversible mechanismincorporating suitable clutching devices to facilitate accuratepositioning of the machine in front of the ovens 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7 of the drawings, it is seen that themachine includes two door handling and lifting assemblies indicatedgenerally by the reference numerals 50, 52, respectively. Door handlingassembly 50 is located on the left side of the apparatus, as viewed fromthe operators control cabin 54 at the rear of machine 10, while doorhandling assembly 52 is located on the right side of the apparatus. Doorhandling assemblies 50, 52 are positioned and adapted to engage andhandle the pusher door on adjacent coking ovens so that the two adjacentovens may be opened and closed without requiring the apparatus to bemoved along its supporting tracks in front of the bank of ovens. Sinceassemblies 50, 52 are substantially identical in construction andoperation, only the assembly 50 will be described in detail, with likereference numerals being applied to designate corresponding elements ofthe door handling assembly 52.

The door handling assembly 50 includes a pair of laterally spaced,parallel beam members 54, 56 rigidly connected at their forward end by atubular structural member 58. A pair of vertically extending postmembers 60, 61 are mou ted on the forward end of beams 54, 56 and arereinforced by brace members 62. Post members 60, 61 support a secondcross beam 64 which cooperates with cross beam 58 to define a generallyrectangular structural frame normally having its front surface disposedin a vertical plane. A pair of laterally spaced, vertically extendingstructural members 65 are rigidly welded on the forward face of thelifter frame in position for their forward face to engage cooperatingbearing surfaces on the metal framework adjacent the side edges of anoven door 66.

A rigid, generally rectangular door clamping and support assembly 67 ismounted on the front face of the lifter frame between structural members65 and is supported for limited lateral sliding movement therebetween byan elongated bar member 68 which, in turn, is slideably supported by aplurality of guide brackets 69 rigidly welded to the top member 58. Adoubleacting linear fluid motor 70 has one end connected to the bar 68and its other end connected to the top member 58, or through one of thebrackets 69, to move the support assembly 67.

As seen in FIG. 4, the door clamping and support assembly 67 includesthree laterally spaced, vertically extending beam members 71 rigidlyconnected by suitable brace members 72. The spacing of the beam members71 corresponds to the spacing of structural steel reinforcing members(not shown) on the outer surface of the oven door, and the fluid motor70 permits minor adjustments of the position of the beams 71 to assureaccurate alignment with the door reinforcing members.

A pair of U-shaped hook members 73 (see FIG. 12) have their legspivotally mounted, as by pins 74 on the two outboard structural beams71, with the free hookshaped ends of the two legs projecting outwardlytherefrom to engage a cooperating lifting bar 75 on the oven door 66.Hook members 73 are pivoted about pin 74 to clamp and release the bar 75by a linear fluid motor 76 having its piston pivotally connected, as bypin 78, to the hook member, and its cylinder end connected, as by pin 80and bracket 82, to the lifter frame. Thus, actuation of the fluid motor76 to rotate the hook members 73 in a counterclockwise direction, asseen in FIG. 12, will retract the hook portion of the member to aposition rearward of the forward face of the lifter frame to permit theforward face of the frame to be positioned in contact with the pusherdoor when the door is in its closed position on an oven. Actuation ofthe fluid motor in the opposite direction will then rotate the clampmembers 73 clockwise to project the forward hook portion of the membersto partially encircle the lifting bars 75 and rigidly clamp the doorinto engagement with the forward face of the lifter frame, and willsupport the door in this position for removal and lifting by the doorhandling assembly.

The rearward ends of the door lifter beams 54, 56 are pivotallysupported, as by pins 84, 86 respectively, on rigid brackets 88, 90. Thebrackets 88, 90 are rigidly welded to and project upwardly from baseplates 92, 94, respectively, which, in turn, are slideably supported onthe top flange of a spaced pair of the transverse beams 16 of the frameassembly 14. A pair of guide posts 96, 98 are rigidly welded to theframe 14 and project upwardly along each side of the base plate 92 andthe beam 54 to maintain the assembly in alignment along the top of thesupporting frame beam members. The base plates 92, 94 each have asupport post rigidly welded on and projecting upwardly from theirforward ends in position to engage a downwardly extending post member102 on the beams 54, 56 to support the pivoted lifter assembly when thelifter frame is in its lowered position.

The lifter frame is moved between a lowered position shown in FIGS. 3and 4 and a raised position shown in FIG. 7 by a linear fluid motor 104having its piston end connected by pin 106 and bracket 108 to the beam54 and its cylinder end connected by pin 110 and bracket 112 to the baseplate 92. A similar fluid motor, not shown, extends between base plate94 and beam 56 and cooperates with the motor 104 to raise and lower thelifter frame.

A second pair of fluid motors 1 14, 116 are employed to slide the baseplates 92, 94 along their supporting frame members 16 toward and awayfrom the bank of ovens. Motors 114, 116 have their cylinder endspivotally connected to the frame cross members 16 by brackets 118, 120,respectively, and their piston ends connected to the brackets 88, 90,respectively, by pins 122, 124.

The door handling assembly is employed to remove an oven door byinitially positioning the machine 10 in front of the bank of ovens withthe lifting hooks 73 in alignment with and outwardly spaced from thelifting bars 75 on the oven door. Fluid motors 114, 116 are thenactuated to slide the assembly along the top flanges of the supportingbeams 16 to engage the front surface of the lifting frame members 65, 71with the oven door, and the fluid motor 76 is actuated to pivot theclamping hooks 73 in a clockwise direction to firmly engage the liftingbars 75 and clamp the oven door onto the lifting frame. The oven doorlock is then released, and motors 114, 116 are actuated to with draw thedoor 66 in a horizontal direction a distance sufficient to clear theoven door opening. Fluid motors 104 are then actuated to pivot thelifting frame, with the door clamped thereon, upwardly about the pivotpins 84 to support the door clear of the door opening to permit coke tobe pushed from the oven, in the case of the door handling assembly 50,or in the case of assembly 52, to permit a charge of coal to be placedin the oven through the pusher door opening.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5 and 7-10, it is seen that the coke pushingassembly is supported for reciprocable movement toward and away from thebank of ovens through the left door handling assembly 50, when thelifting frame is in the elevated position. The pusher mechanism includesa pusher head 130 rigidly mounted on the forward ends of a pair ofhorizontal, laterally spaced pusher arms 132, 134. The arms 132, 134 areidentical in construction and accordingly only the left arm 132 will bedescribed in detail, with identical reference numerals being employed toindicate corresponding parts of the right arm 134. As best seen in FIG.10, arm 132 is a composite structure made up of a heavy, wide-flangebeam having a central web 136 and top and bottom flanges of 138, 140,respectively. A first vertical side plate 142 is welded to the lateraledges of flanges 138, 140 at one side of the beam and cooperates withthe flanges and web 136 to define a first fluid tight chamber 144extending the length of the arm. A second side plate 146 is rigidlywelded to the edges of flanges 138, 140 on the opposite side of the beamto define a second fluid tight channel 148. Thus, the flanges 138', 140and the plates 142, 146 cooperate to define a generally rectangularclosed beam structure having two parallel channels 144, 148 extendingtherethrough.

The arms 132, 134 are supported for reciprocable movement transverselyof the machine and toward and away from the bank of ovens 12 by aplurality of support rollers 150 mounted on shafts 151 which, in turn,are journaled for rotation about their respective axes by a pair ofbearings 152 mounted on transverse beams 16 of the machine frame 14. Therollers 150 each have radially extending flanges 154 (FIG. 10) on theiropposed ends which project upwardly along the edges of flange 140 to actas a lateral guide for the arms 132, 134 during their movement into andout of the ovens 12.

An elongated rack 156 is mounted on the top of arms 132, 134, with gearteeth formed on the top face of the racks being adapted to mate withcorresponding gear teeth on drive pinions 158. Pinions 158 are mountedon a pinion shaft 160 which, in turn, is supported on the beams 16 byjournal blocks 162 mounted on upwardly projecting, rigid brackets 164.Pinion shaft 160 is driven, through a sprocket 166 mounted on one endthereof, by a chain 168 which, in turn, is driven by pusher drive motor170 acting through a suitable reduction gear mechanism 172 and sprocket174. The reduction gear mechanism 172 is preferably reversible andincludes suitable clutching mechanisms to permit the pusher head to bedriven in either direction.

Due to the length of travel of the pusher head 130, the pusher arms 132,134 must necessarily be quite long. For example, a machine employed topush an a substantial portion of the cantilevered weight of the pusherhead and arms is supported by the floor of the oven through an elongatedroller 176 supported, as by mounting brackets 178 on the pusher head130. When the pusher head is in the retracted position illustrated inFIGS. 1 through 7, the pusher arms extend in cantilevered relationrearwardly a substantial distance beyond the rearmost support roller150, and their weight may tend to raise the pusher head about thisrearmost roller as a pivot point. To avoid this, a pair of hold-downrollers 180, each supported by a pair of journal bearings 182 rigidlymounted on support blocks 184, engage the top surface of the pusher arms132, 134. The hold-down rollers have a recessed central portion 186spanning the rack 156, and a pair of flanges 188 on their respectiveends extend along the side of and act as a guide for the top flange 138.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, it is seen that the pusher head 130 is of ahollow core construction, made up of a plurality of individualstructural beams and plates rigidly welded together to provide sixparallel, horizontally extending channels 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, and195 extending therethrough. The main body of the pusher head 130 is madeup of five H-beams stacked on top of one another and having theirflanges rigidly weded together and cooperating to form, in effect, twoparallel, spaced vertical plates joined by the webs 196 of the beams todefine four of the channels. The top and bottom channels 190, 195,respectively, are defined by welded plate sections joined to the upperand lower l-i-beam flanges. A continuous plate 197 is welded to theforward face of the pusher head to provide a continuous, smooth surfacefor engaging and pushing the incandescent cake of coke from an oven, anda pair of end plates 198 close the opposed ends of the assembly.

An opening 200 is provided in the web 196 of the topmost H-beam,adjacent one end thereof, to provide fluid communication betweenchannels 190 and 191, and a similar opening 202 is formed in the web ofthe adjacent H-beam 196 at the opposite end of the pusher head toprovide fluid communication between channels 191 and 192. A pipe 204 isrigidly welded within the pusher head 130 and has one end in fluidcommunication with the channel 144 of the pusher arm 132 and its otherend in fluid communication with the channel 190 at the end thereofopposite the opening 200. A second pipe 206 is rigidly welded within thehead 130 and has its open ends communicating with the channel 148 in thepusher arm 134 and the channel 192 at the end thereof opposite theopening 202.

Similarly, an opening 208 in one end of the H-beam web between channels193 and 194 provides fluid communication therebetween, and an opening210 in the lowermost H-beam web provides fluid communication betweenchannels 194 and 195. Also, pipes 212 and 214 are rigidly welded withinthe pusher head assem- 9 bly, with pipe 212 having its open endsproviding fluid communication between the channel 144 of pusher arm 134and the channel 195, while pipe 212 provides fluid communication betweenthe channel 148 of pusher arm 132 and the fluid channel 193.

A pair of flexible hoses 214, 216 are connected to the ends of thepusher arms 132, 134 remote from the pusher head, and cooling water,under pressure, is directed therethrough into the channels 144 of therespective pusher arms. This cooling water flows through the pipe 204into the top channel 190 of the pusher head, down through the opening200 into the channel 191, thence through opening 202 to the channel 192,and out the pipe 206 and the channel 148 in pusher arm 134 to cool thetop half of the pusher head. At the same time, water flows from channel144 through the pipe 212 into the bottom channel 195 and out of thechannel 193 through pipe 214 and channel 148 of the pusher arm 132.Thus, the cooling water serves not only to cool the pusher head 130 butalso to cool the structural elements of the pusher arms. Suitableflexible conduits, not shown, are provided on the rear end of the pusherarms for conveying the heated water to a cooling tower or otherappropriate point of disposal. By cooling the pusher head, the expenseof frequent replacements of this structural element is avoided. Moreimportant, however, are the advantages derived from the more efficientpushing of the coke from the oven due to the fact that the cooled headdoes not warp. Further, substantial savings are realized by the factthat the pushing and charging machine does not have to be taken out ofoperation for the customary frequent pusher head changes.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is seen that when the machine 10 is positionedin front of the bank of ovens 12 so that the pusher head 130 is in axialalignment with the coking chamber of one oven in the bank, such as oven12b, the right door handling assembly 52 is positioned in front of anadjacent oven 12a, with a movable oven charging conveyer assembly 220 inaxial alignment with the coking chamber in the oven 12a. Coal to bedeposited into the oven 12a (after the pusher door thereof has beenremoved) is fed from a large hopper 222. The hopper 222 has verticallyextending end walls 224, 226 spaced apart a distance substantially equalto the width of the coking chamber of the oven, and inclined side walls228, 230 (FIG. 6) which terminate at their lower edge in spaced relationto one another to define an elongated open feed slot 232 extending thefull width of the hopper. Opening 232 may be closed by a suitable valvemember such as the sliding plate 234 (see FIG. 12) actuated by a doubleacting linear fluid motor 236. Hopper 222 and the oven charging conveyer220 are supported on the frame assembly 14 by a separate, verticallymovable frame assembly 238 described more fully hereinbelow.

Conveyer 220 is made up of an elongated generally rectangular framestructure defined by a pair of identical, laterally spaced parallel sidebeams 24 0, 242 joined at their respective ends by transverselyextending shafts 244, 246, and at spaced points intermediate their endsby a plurality of elongated, rigid spacer members 248. The individualside beams 240, 242 are substantially identical in construction andaccordingly only beam 240 will be described in detail, with identicalreference numerals being employed to designate similar elements of thetwo beams. Thus, beam 240 is made up of a pair of structural channels250, 252 supported in vertically aligned, spaced relation to one anotherby a plurality of rigid gusset members 254. A pair of side plates 256,258 are welded to the edges of the flanges of the respective'channelsand cooperate therewith to define a pair of rectangular fluid conduits260, 262 extending the full length of the conveyer frame. The fluidconduits 260, 262 are connected at the forward end of the conveyer by arigidly welded semicircular conduit section 264. Cooling water, underpressure, is supplied to the conduit 262 by a flexible hose 265connected to the end of the side beam farthest from the ovens. Thecooling water circulates through the conduit 262, the arcuate section264 and the conduit 260 to be discharged through a second flexible hose266 connected in fluid communication with the conduit 260.

Mounted on the upper surface of each of the side beams 240, 242 is anelongated, channel-shaped rack 268 having recessed gear teeth 270 in thecentral portion thereof for engaging mating gear teeth on a drive pinion272 mounted on a transversely extending shaft 274. The shaft 274 isjournaled for rotation by bearings 276 and is driven, through sprocket278 and chain 280, by a suitable electric motor 282 acting through areversible reduction gear mechanism 284.

The side beams 240, 242 are supported for longitudinal movement towardand away from the bank of ovens 12 by a plurality of conveyer supportrollers 286 mounted on shafts 287 which, in turn, are supported forrotation by bearing members 288 mounted at spaced points alongtransverse frame members 16. R01- lers 286 each have a recessed centralportion 290 which engages and supports the bottom surface of the channel252, and a radially extending flange portion 292 which projects upwardlyalong the outer surface of the beam to maintain the beam in alignmentparallel with the longitudinal axis of the coking oven. A pair ofhold-down rollers 294, similar in construction to the conveyor supportrollers 286, engage the top surface of the rack members 268 to hold theconveyor assembly against pivotal movement about the rearmost conveyorsupport roller 286 upon movement of the conveyer assemblyto its fullyretracted position shown in FIG. 11. Rollers 294 are mounted on suitableidler shafts 296 supported for rotation about their longitudinal axes bybearings 298.

Referring to FIG. 13, it is seen that a first pair of angle members 300,302 are mounted on the inner surfaces of beams 240, 242 adjacent the topedge thereof and in opposed relation to one another, and a second pairof angle members 304, 306 are rigidly welded to the inner surface of thebeams adjacent the lower edge thereof. The angles 300, 302 cooperate todefine a support track for the top, return run of an endless drivenchain conveyer 308, while angles 304, 306 cooperate to define thesupport track for the lower, conveying run of the conveyer chainassembly. The conveyer chain assembly 308 is made up of a pair ofendless chains 309, 310, with the chain of 309 extending along the innersurface of side beam 240 and supported by the angle tracks 302 and 306,while chain 310 extends along the side beam 242 and is supported by thetracks 300 and 304. The chains 309, 310 extend over sprockets 312 (onlyone of which is shown in FIG. 14) mounted on the ends of shafts 244,246, and are held in their spaced parallel relation by a plurality ofelongated, rigid conveyer flight members, or drag bars 314.

The drag bars 314 are generally L-shaped in cross section, and havetheir opposed ends connected, as by mounting brackets 316, to theindividual links of the chains 309, 310.

The conveyer chain assembly is driven about its endless path by anelectric motor 320, acting through a suitable reduction gear mechanism322, sprocket 324, and drive chain 326. The drive chain 326 extends overa sprocket 328 mounted on a drive shaft 330 extending transverselyacross the conveyer assembly and mounted for rotation about itslongitudinal axis by a pair of bearing blocks 332. A pair of conveyerdrive sprockets 334 are mounted on the shaft 330 in position to engageand drive the chains 309, 310 upon rotation of the shaft 330 by thedrive chain 326. To assure adequate driving engagement between theconveyer chains 309, 310 and the driving sprockets 334, the chains aretrained upwardly around the sprockets 334 and over idler sprockets 336mounted on a shaft 338 which, in turn, is journaled for rotation aboutits axis by a pair of bearings 340. From the idler sprockets 336, thechains are trained downwardly and beneath a second pair of idlersprockets 342 mounted on a shaft 344 extending transversely of theconveyer assembly and journaled for rotation about its axis by a pair ofbearing blocks 346. Since the shafts 330, 338 and 344, as well as motor320 and reduction gear 22, are mounted on the movable frame structure238, operation of the drive sprocket 328 will move the conveyer chainassembly about its endless path along the rectangular conveyer framestructure independently of the position of the machine frame 14, or ofits movement by the conveyer drive pinion 272.

A false door and bridge assembly 350 is slidably mounted on the movableframe structure 238 beneath the movable conveyer structure 220 in thearea of the coal hopper 222. The false door and bridge assembly includesa generally rectangular frame structure 352 supported on a plurality ofsupport members 354 of frame 238, and is moved between its retractedposition shown in FlG. 11 and an extended position shown in FIG. 12 by apair of identical double acting linear fluid motors 356. Frame 352 has asmooth horizontal top surface 358 which extends between the side beams240, 242 and acts as a floor surface bridging the space from the hopper222 and the ovens 12 and over which coal discharged from hopper 222 isdragged by the conveyer drag bars 314.

Mounted on the forward end of the frame 352 is a generally rectangularfalse door 360 adapted to be projected into and substantially fill thepusher door opening throughout its width and ma height substantiallyequal to the depth of the charge of coal to be deposited into the ovenwhen the assembly is in its extended position shown in FIGS. 12 and 14.The forward conveyor support roller 286 also acts as a guide for thefalse door and bridge assembly in its reciprocal movement to assure thatthe floor 358 remains in position between the side beams 240, 242 tothereby assure that no coal is spilled as his being conveyed from thehopper to the oven between the side beams.

Referring to F i6. 14, it is seen that the depth of the charge of coalto be deposited in an oven may be varied by the simple expedient ofelevating the charging conveyer and the false vdoor and bridgeassemblies. This is accomplished by supporting the conveyer structure,in-

cluding the door handling assembly 52, the hopper 222,

the conveyer assembly 220, and the false door and bridge assembly 350 onthe movable frame assembly 238, which, in turn, is supported on girders18 by four large, single-acting fluid cylinders 362. In the drawings,the false door 360 is illustrated as having a height equal to theminimum depth of a charge of coal to be deposited in the oven. When itis desired to deposit a deeper charge in the oven, cylinders 362 elevatethe frame 238 to raise the bottom surface of the false door above thefloor of the oven. When the bottom edge of the false door is onlyslightly above the oven floor, a small amount of coal may tend to flowbeneath the false door and into the door opening, but this amount willnot be enough to interfere with replacement of the oven door aftercompletion of the oven chargingoperation. However, when a substantiallydeeper charge is to be deposited in the oven, it may be desirable toemploy an extension 364 (illustrated in phantom) in the form of astructural channel or the like bolted to the bottom surface or frontface of the false door assembly. Also, if desired, once the false doorand conveyer assembly is adjusted to the desired height by the fluidmotors 362, the subframe assembly 238 may be blocked up on the crossmembers 16 of the frame 14 to thereby relieve the load on the fluidmotors and assure a constant, uniform elevation of the assembly.

While the hopper assembly may be of sufficient size to hold a completecharge of coal to be deposited into an oven, this would require anextremely large hopper for some modern coking ovens which may take acharge of from 25 to 40 tons of coal. To avoid the necessity of such alarge hopper, conveyer means is provided to supply coal to the hopperduring the filling operation, with the hopper acting as an accumulatorto assure a uniform, even distribution of coal across the entire widthof the conveyer assembly 220. Also, by commencing the charging operationwith a full hopper, the size of the conveyer required to supply the coalto the machine may be reduced. As indicated in H68. 1 and 2, the coalsupply conveyer, indicated generally by the reference numeral 366, maybe in the form of a driven endless belt 368 extending along andsupported on the front of the bank of ovens 12. A driven belt diverterconveyer 370 is mounted on tracks 3'72 and is connected to hopper 222,as by arm 374, for movement therewith along its path in front of thebank of ovens. The diverter conveyer 370 is of conventional constructionand cooperates with the endless belt 368 to deliver the coal from theconveyer to the hopper.

A pushing and charging apparatus of the type described above has beenconstructed for use in pushing and charging a bank of ovens havingcoking chambers l 1 feet in width and slightly over 50 feet in length.Such an oven may require a charge of approximately 26 tons of crushedcoal, when the oven is operated on a 24 hour cycle, or approximately 40tons of coal when operated on a 48 hour cycle. In this initialembodiment of the machine, the hopper 222 has a capacity of 13.5 tons,which has been found to be adequate, when supplemented with theconventional belt conveyor system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, tomaintain a uniform supply of coal through hopper 222 to the chargingconveyer 220. The charging conveyer, per se, in this initial embodimentof the apparatus has an overall length of approximately 69 feet and atotal width of approximately 10 feet, 10 inches. The charging conveyerpositioning rack has a total length of 58 feet, with the total travel ofthe conveyer from its fully retracted position to its extended positionbeing slightly less than 58 feet.

The coke pusher head similarly has a width of approximately feet, 10inches, with the pusher arms being 67 feet in length. The positioningracks on the pusher arms have a total length of 63 feet, with a pusherhead having a total travel slightly less than 63 feet. This travel issufficient to project the pusher head completely through the oven topush a charge of coke across the catwalk and into a hot car positionedat the coke end of the oven.

In use of the apparatus described above, the pushing and chargingmachine is positioned at the right hand end of the bank of ovens, asviewed from the operators station, with the pusher ram centered in frontof the first oven in the bank and with the charging conveyer extendingbeyond (to the right as viewed by the operator) the end of the bank ofovens. In this position, the left door handling assembly 50 movesforward and clamps the oven door. The oven door locking mechanism isthen released, and the door is withdrawn from the oven and liftedupwardly to permit the pusher head to be telescoped therebeneath. At thesame time, a conventional door lifting mechanism 375 has been actuatedto remove the coke door from the opposite end of the oven, and toposition the conventional coke apron, or ramp 376, in front of the opencoke door to provide a chute for the coke across the rear catwalk 378and into the hot car 380.

With cooling water being pumped through the supply hoses 216, 218 andcirculated through the pusher head 130, the pusher arms 132, 134 arethen telescoped into the oven to push the cake of coke through the oveninto the waiting hot car. As soon as the coke is pushed through theoven, the reduction gear mechanism 172 is reversed to withdraw thepusher head through the oven, and the two oven doors are quicklyreplaced to conserve heat in the oven. Motor 38 is then energized tomove the pushing and charging machine along the bank of ovens toposition the pusher in front of the second oven and the chargingconveyer in front of the first oven which has just been pushed.

The second door handling assembly 52 is then actuated as described aboveto again remove the pusher door from the first oven, and fluid motor 356actuated to move the false door and bridge assembly 350 forward toposition the false door 360 in the open oven door. The charging conveyormotor 320 is then energized to drive the endless chain conveyer aboutits path, and motor 282 is energized to start telescoping the conveyerinto the coking chamber. At the same time, valve 234 is opened to permitcoal to flow from hopper 222 onto the conveyer, and the coal deliveryconveyer is energized to deliver additional coal to the hopper. Coaldropping through hopper 222 will pass down through the top flight of thechain conveyer and be deposited on the surface 358 to be draggedtherealong by the drag bars 314 into the open oven. By driving theconveyer chain at a rate to fill the coking chamher to the desired levelsubstantially as fast as the conveyer is telescoped into the oven, thecharge of coal deposited on the oven floor, acting through the conveyerdrag bars and the bottom surfaces of the side beams 240, 242, supports asubstantial portion of the cantilevered weight of the conveyer assembly.This weight of the conveyer assembly, in combination with the liveaction of the conveyer drag bars moving over the charge,

compacts the crushed coal throughout the length of the coking chamber.

The tendency of the conveyer assembly to sag under its own cantileveredweight toward the back of the corking oven places a slightly greatercompacting load on the charge in this area. However, this effect iscompensated for by the increased compaction of the live load effect ofthe conveyer on the charge toward the front of the oven, with the resultthat substantially uniform compaction is obtained throughout the oven.Also, in order to obtain a more uniform depth of charge throughout thelength of the oven, the charging conveyer mechanism is telescoped intothe oven at a slightly upwardly inclined angle to compensate for thesagging of the conveyer toward the back of the coking chamber.

Since the charging conveyer assembly is substantially the same width asthe coking chamber, and since coal is delivered to the conveyeruniformly across its entire width, the charge of coal deposited in thechamber is of uniform depth and density throughout the width of thechamber. Since the drag bars and the conveyer chain structure are incontact with the relatively cool coal throughout the bottom run of theconveyer path, they are exposed to the intense oven heat only for therelatively short period of time of the upper return run of the path.Further, the water cooled side beams shield the conveyer chains againstthe intense heat radiated from the hot oven walls even during the returnrun so that the chain life is greatly increased. The relatively largevolume of cooling water contained in and circulated through the sidebeam 240, 242 maintain these structures at a safe operating temperaturedespite the fact that they are in extremely close proximity to andsometimes may even be in contact with the side-walls of the cokingchamber throughout the charging operation.

By closing the hopper valve plate 234 slightly before the oven iscompletely charged, the last coal delivered to the conveyer will beconveyed to the back of the oven to complete the charge, leaving the topof the charge in a smooth, level, compact condition. As soon as thecomplete charge of coal is deposited in the oven, the reduction gearmechanism 284 is reversed to retract the charging conveyer. During thisretracting process, the conveyer chains are continuously driven at arate substantially equal to the rate at which the assembly is beingwithdrawn so that the bottom flight of the conveyer chain remainssubstantially stationary with respect to the charge of coal rather thanbeing dragged back over the oven charge, thereby avoiding any tendencyto drag coal from the oven or to disturb the top surface of the charge.

As soon as the conveyer assembly is withdrawn from the oven, the falsedoor and bridge assembly is withdrawn, and the door handling assembly isactuated to replace the oven door. It has been found that a 40 toncharge of coal can be deposited, in a level, compact condition, into thelarge oven described above by this mechanism in less than four minutes.This extremely fast charging procedure not only conserves vast amountsof heat in the oven, but also virtually eliminates the usual dischargeof smoke and gases into the atmosphere during the conventional chargingand leveling process.

If the pushing and leveling machine is operated by a single operator,then the next step in the procedure will normally be to push the secondoven in the manner described above with regard to the first oven. Uponcompletion of this second pushing operation, the entire pushing andcharging machine is then advanced along the bank of ovens to place thepusher in front of the third oven, and the procedure repeated to pushand charge the entire bank of ovens. If desired, two operators can beemployed so that one oven may be pushed while the adjacent oven is beingcharged, thereby substantially decreasing the total amount of timerequired to push and charge a bank of ovens. However, this generally isnot considered necessary since the apparatus can push and charge a largebank of ovens within a relatively short period of time. Further, such afast pushing operation may overload the quenching sheds and requireadditional equipment and personnel to maintain the supply of hot cars inposition to receive the coke.

While I havedisclosed and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, I wish it understood that I do not intend to be restrictedsolely thereto, but rather that I intend to include all embodimentsthereof which would be apparent to one skilled in the art and which comewithin the spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An oven charging machine for charging a horizontal coke oven throughone of the door openings therein comprising, in combination, a carsupported for movement along fixed tracks extending in front of saidoven, oven charging conveyer means mounted on said car for reciprocalmovement between a retracted position in front of said oven to anextended position projecting through said one door opening and into thecoking chamber of said oven to a position adjacent the other doorthereof, said charging conveyer including a pair of endless chains, apair of elongated cantilever beams, support means mounting said beams onsaid car for reciprocal movement thereon between said extended and saidretracted positions with one of said beams extending in closely spacedrelation to each of the opposed sidewalls of said coking chamber, saidbeams each supporting one of said endless chain for movement aboutspaced parallel endless paths including a conveying run extending alongsaidbeams, a plurality of elongated generally parallel drag barsextending between and attached to said endless chains at spacedintervals therealong, and first motor means driving said endless chainsabout said endless paths, hopper means mounted on said car above saidconveyer means, said hopper means including discharge means adapted todischarge coal onto said conveyer means at a substantially uniform rateacross substantially the entire width thereof between said cantileverbeams, and second motor means for driving said beams along saidsupporting means to project said conveyer means into said cokingchamber, said first motor means being operable to drive said chains andthe drag bars mounted thereto to drag coal into said coking chamber tofill said chamber at a substantially uniform rate across the entirewidth thereof progressively from said one door opening to the other endthereof as said charging'conveyer means is profor supporting coaldeposited from said hopper in position to be dragged therealong by saiddrag bars into said oven.

3. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 2 further comprisingmeans supporting said charging conveyer means and said bridge means forvertical movement to thereby vary the depth of the charge of coaldeposited into said oven.

4. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 3 further comprisingmeans for mounting said bridge means for reciprocal movement on said cartoward and away from said oven.

5. The oven charging machine defined in claim 3 further comprising falsedoor means mounted on said car, and means moving said false door intoposition in said one open end of said oven beneath said bridge tothereby obstruct the flow of coal out of said one open end during thecharging operation.

6. The oven charging machine defined in claim 1 wherein said conveyingrun extends adjacent the lower edge portion of said cantilever beams andwherein said support means support said beams with said lower edgeportion extending at the level of the charge of coal to be deposited insaid ovens whereby said drag bars act to simultaneously level andcompact the charge of coal as they move thereover along said conveyingrun from the front of said oven to the rear thereof.

7. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 1 further comprisingmeans for cooling said cantilever beams when said beams are projectedinto said oven.

8. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 7 wherein said meansfor cooling said cantilever beams comprises fluid conduits extendinglongitudinally through said beams, and means for circulating a coolingliquid through said fluid conduits.

9. ln the art of converting coal to coke in a coking oven including anelongated horizontal coking chamber having its open ends normally closedby removable doors, the improvement comprising the steps of removing oneof said doors to open one end of said coking chamber, closing the bottomportion only of said one open end of said coking chamber with a falsedoor having its upper edge at a level substantially equal to the levelof the top surface of the charge of coal to be deposited in the cokingchamber, and charging the coking chamber with coal to a substantiallyuniform depth across the entire width thereof progressively from saidone end of the coking chamber to the other end thereof while said falsedoor is in position in said open end, and then removing said false doorand replacing said removable door to close the coking chamber.

10. In the art of converting coal to coke in a coking oven including anelongated horizontal coking chamber having its open ends normally closedby removable doors, the improvement comprising the steps of removing thedoor from one end of said oven, positioning a false door in the dooropening to close the door opening to a height substantially equal to thedesired depth of the charge of coal to be deposited in the oven,progressively telescoping an endless drag-type conveyer having a widthsubstantially as great as the width of the coking chamber into said ovenabove said false door, and continuously driving said conveyer to conveycoal into said oven at a rate sufficient to substantially fill said ovento the desired depth and across the entire width of the coking chamberas the conveyer is projected into said oven.

11. The process as defined in claim wherein said endless drag-typeconveyer is supported on a cantilevered boom structure with said endlessdrag-type conveyer including a conveying run extending along the bottomof said boom structure at a level corresponding to the top surface ofthe charge of coal to be deposited into the oven, said step ofprojecting said chain conveyer into said coking chamber includingprogressively telescoping said boom structure into said conveyingchamber with said conveying run contacting the top surface of the chargeof coal as the charge is built up in said oven to thereby simultaneouslylevel and compact the charge of coal.

12. The process as defined in claim 11 further comprising the steps ofpositioning a movable bridge between said open door and a coal feedingstation outside of said oven, said movable bridge extending at a levelsubstantially equal to the level of the top of said false door andhaving a width at least substantially as great as the width of saidcoking chamber whereby coal fed to said conveyer at said coal feedingstation is conveyed along said bridge and into said coking chamber bysaid conveying run.

13. The method of charging a coke oven through one of the door openingstherein comprising the steps of positioning a movable coal supply infront of said oven in outwardly spaced relation to said one dooropening, positioning a movable bridge between said one door opening andsaid movable coal supply, said bridge being of a width at leastsubstantially as great as the width of the coking chamber in said ovenand having its top surface in a generally horizontal plane atsubstantially the same level of the top surface of the charge of coal tobe placed in said oven, depositing coal from said movable coal supplyonto said bridge top surface at a substantially uniform rate acrosssubstantially the full width thereof, and conveying said coal along saidbridge top surface and into said oven to fill said oven across itsentire width progressively from said one door opening to the oppositedoor of the oven.

14. The method as defined in claim 13 further comprising the steps ofpositioning a false door in said one door opening, said false doorextending downwardly from said bridge top surface and acting as atemporary barrier to obstruct coal tending to flow beneath said bridgeand out of said one door opening during the charging operation.

15. The method as defined in claim 13 further cor nprising the steps oftelescoping an endless drag-type conveyer into said one door openingabove said bridge surface, and driving said conveyer in a direction todrag coal along the top surface of said bridge and into said ovenwhereby the oven is progressively filled to the desired level as theconveyer is telescoped therein.

16. The method as defined in claim 15 wherein said conveyer has a widthsubstantially equal to the width of the coking chamber in said oven andincludes a pair of endless chains extending one adjacent each side wallof said oven chamber when the conveyer is telescoped therein and aplurality of parallel beam members extending between and connected tosaid chains, said beams serving to simultaneously drag coal into saidoven and to level and compact the coal deposited therein.

17. In anoven charging machine for charging a horizontal coke oventhrough one of the door openings therein including a car supported formovement along fixed tracks extending in front of said oven, ovencharging conveyor means mounted on said car for reciprocal movementbetween a retracted position in front of said oven to an extendedposition projecting through said one door opening and into the cokingchamber of said oven to a position adjacent the other door thereof, saidcharging conveyor comprising in combination a pair of endless chains, apair of elongated cantilever beams, support means mounting said beams onsaid car for reciprocal movement thereon between said extended and saidretracted positions with one of said beams extending in closely spacedrelation to each of the opposed side walls of said coking chamber, saidbeams each supporting one of said endless chain for movement aboutspaced parallel endless paths including a conveying run extending alongsaid beams, a plurality of elongated generally parallel drag barsextending between and attached to said endless chains at spacedintervals therealong, motor means for driving said endless chains aboutsaid endless paths and for driving said beams between said extended andretracted positions, and means for cooling said beams when said conveyoris projected into said oven.

18. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 17 wherein said meansfor cooling said cantilever beams comprises fluid conduits extendinglongitudinally through said beams, and means for circulating a coolingliquid through said fluid conduits.

19. In an oven charging machine for charging a horizontal coke oventhrough one of the door openings therein, a car supported for movementalong fixed tracks extending in front of said oven, oven chargingconveyor means mounted on said car for reciprocal movement between aretracted position in front of said oven to an extended positionprojecting through said one door opening and into the coking chamber ofsaid oven to a position adjacent the other door thereof, said chargingconveyor comprising in combination a pair of endless chains, a pair ofelongated cantilever beams, support means mounting said beams on saidcar for reciprocal movement thereon between said extended and saidretracted positions with one of said beams extending in closely spacedrelation to each of the opposed side walls of said coking chamber, saidbeams each supporting one of said endless chains for movement aboutspaced parallel endless paths including a conveying run extending alongsaid beams, a plurality of elongated generally parallel drag barsextending between and attached to said endless chains at spacedintervals therealong, and first motor means for driving said endlesschains about said endless paths and for driving said beams between saidextended and retracted positions, bridge means mounted on said car andextending beneath said conveyor to said one door to define a supportsurface for coal to be dragged thereover by said drag bars, said motormeans being operable to drive said chains and the drag bars mountedthereto to drag coal over said bridge and into said coking chamber tofill said chamber at a substantially uniform rate across substantiallythe entire width thereof progressively from said one door opening to theother end thereof as said charging conveyor means is propelled into saidcoking chamber.

20. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 19 further comprisingmeans for mounting said bridge for reciprocal movement on said cartoward and away from said oven.

1. An oven charging machine for charging a horizontal coke oven throughone of the door openings therein comprising, in combination, a carsupported for movement along fixed tracks extending in front of saidoven, oven charging conveyer means mounted on said car for reciprocalmovement between a retracted position in front of said oven to anextended position projecting through said one door opening and into thecoking chamber of said oven to a position adjacent the other doorthereof, said charging conveyer including a pair of endless chains, apair of elongated cantilever beams, support means mounting said beams onsaid car for reciprocal movement thereon between said extended and saidretracted positions with one of said beams extending in closely spacedrelation to each of the opposed sidewalls of said coking chamber, saidbeams each supporting one of said endless chain for movement aboutspaced parallel endless paths including a conveying run extending aLongsaid beams, a plurality of elongated generally parallel drag barsextending between and attached to said endless chains at spacedintervals therealong, and first motor means driving said endless chainsabout said endless paths, hopper means mounted on said car above saidconveyer means, said hopper means including discharge means adapted todischarge coal onto said conveyer means at a substantially uniform rateacross substantially the entire width thereof between said cantileverbeams, and second motor means for driving said beams along saidsupporting means to project said conveyer means into said cokingchamber, said first motor means being operable to drive said chains andthe drag bars mounted thereto to drag coal into said coking chamber tofill said chamber at a substantially uniform rate across the entirewidth thereof progressively from said one door opening to the other endthereof as said charging conveyer means is propelled into said cokingchamber.
 2. The oven charging machine defined in claim 1 furthercomprising bridge means mounted on said car and extending beneath saidcharging conveyer, said bridge means defining a support surfaceextending between said hopper means and said one open end of said ovenfor supporting coal deposited from said hopper in position to be draggedtherealong by said drag bars into said oven.
 3. The oven chargingmachine as defined in claim 2 further comprising means supporting saidcharging conveyer means and said bridge means for vertical movement tothereby vary the depth of the charge of coal deposited into said oven.4. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 3 further comprisingmeans for mounting said bridge means for reciprocal movement on said cartoward and away from said oven.
 5. The oven charging machine defined inclaim 3 further comprising false door means mounted on said car, andmeans moving said false door into position in said one open end of saidoven beneath said bridge to thereby obstruct the flow of coal out ofsaid one open end during the charging operation.
 6. The oven chargingmachine defined in claim 1 wherein said conveying run extends adjacentthe lower edge portion of said cantilever beams and wherein said supportmeans support said beams with said lower edge portion extending at thelevel of the charge of coal to be deposited in said ovens whereby saiddrag bars act to simultaneously level and compact the charge of coal asthey move thereover along said conveying run from the front of said ovento the rear thereof.
 7. The oven charging machine as defined in claim 1further comprising means for cooling said cantilever beams when saidbeams are projected into said oven.
 8. The oven charging machine asdefined in claim 7 wherein said means for cooling said cantilever beamscomprises fluid conduits extending longitudinally through said beams,and means for circulating a cooling liquid through said fluid conduits.9. In the art of converting coal to coke in a coking oven including anelongated horizontal coking chamber having its open ends normally closedby removable doors, the improvement comprising the steps of removing oneof said doors to open one end of said coking chamber, closing the bottomportion only of said one open end of said coking chamber with a falsedoor having its upper edge at a level substantially equal to the levelof the top surface of the charge of coal to be deposited in the cokingchamber, and charging the coking chamber with coal to a substantiallyuniform depth across the entire width thereof progressively from saidone end of the coking chamber to the other end thereof while said falsedoor is in position in said open end, and then removing said false doorand replacing said removable door to close the coking chamber.
 10. Inthe art of converting coal to coke in a coking oven including anelongated horizontal coking chamber having its open ends normally closedby removable doors, the improvement comprising the steps of removing thedoor from oNe end of said oven, positioning a false door in the dooropening to close the door opening to a height substantially equal to thedesired depth of the charge of coal to be deposited in the oven,progressively telescoping an endless drag-type conveyer having a widthsubstantially as great as the width of the coking chamber into said ovenabove said false door, and continuously driving said conveyer to conveycoal into said oven at a rate sufficient to substantially fill said ovento the desired depth and across the entire width of the coking chamberas the conveyer is projected into said oven.
 11. The process as definedin claim 10 wherein said endless drag-type conveyer is supported on acantilevered boom structure with said endless drag-type conveyerincluding a conveying run extending along the bottom of said boomstructure at a level corresponding to the top surface of the charge ofcoal to be deposited into the oven, said step of projecting said chainconveyer into said coking chamber including progressively telescopingsaid boom structure into said conveying chamber with said conveying runcontacting the top surface of the charge of coal as the charge is builtup in said oven to thereby simultaneously level and compact the chargeof coal.
 12. The process as defined in claim 11 further comprising thesteps of positioning a movable bridge between said open door and a coalfeeding station outside of said oven, said movable bridge extending at alevel substantially equal to the level of the top of said false door andhaving a width at least substantially as great as the width of saidcoking chamber whereby coal fed to said conveyer at said coal feedingstation is conveyed along said bridge and into said coking chamber bysaid conveying run.
 13. The method of charging a coke oven through oneof the door openings therein comprising the steps of positioning amovable coal supply in front of said oven in outwardly spaced relationto said one door opening, positioning a movable bridge between said onedoor opening and said movable coal supply, said bridge being of a widthat least substantially as great as the width of the coking chamber insaid oven and having its top surface in a generally horizontal plane atsubstantially the same level of the top surface of the charge of coal tobe placed in said oven, depositing coal from said movable coal supplyonto said bridge top surface at a substantially uniform rate acrosssubstantially the full width thereof, and conveying said coal along saidbridge top surface and into said oven to fill said oven across itsentire width progressively from said one door opening to the oppositedoor of the oven.
 14. The method as defined in claim 13 furthercomprising the steps of positioning a false door in said one dooropening, said false door extending downwardly from said bridge topsurface and acting as a temporary barrier to obstruct coal tending toflow beneath said bridge and out of said one door opening during thecharging operation.
 15. The method as defined in claim 13 furthercomprising the steps of telescoping an endless drag-type conveyer intosaid one door opening above said bridge surface, and driving saidconveyer in a direction to drag coal along the top surface of saidbridge and into said oven whereby the oven is progressively filled tothe desired level as the conveyer is telescoped therein.
 16. The methodas defined in claim 15 wherein said conveyer has a width substantiallyequal to the width of the coking chamber in said oven and includes apair of endless chains extending one adjacent each side wall of saidoven chamber when the conveyer is telescoped therein and a plurality ofparallel beam members extending between and connected to said chains,said beams serving to simultaneously drag coal into said oven and tolevel and compact the coal deposited therein.
 17. In an oven chargingmachine for charging a horizontal coke oven through one of the dooropenings therein including a car supported for movemeNt along fixedtracks extending in front of said oven, oven charging conveyor meansmounted on said car for reciprocal movement between a retracted positionin front of said oven to an extended position projecting through saidone door opening and into the coking chamber of said oven to a positionadjacent the other door thereof, said charging conveyor comprising incombination a pair of endless chains, a pair of elongated cantileverbeams, support means mounting said beams on said car for reciprocalmovement thereon between said extended and said retracted positions withone of said beams extending in closely spaced relation to each of theopposed side walls of said coking chamber, said beams each supportingone of said endless chain for movement about spaced parallel endlesspaths including a conveying run extending along said beams, a pluralityof elongated generally parallel drag bars extending between and attachedto said endless chains at spaced intervals therealong, motor means fordriving said endless chains about said endless paths and for drivingsaid beams between said extended and retracted positions, and means forcooling said beams when said conveyor is projected into said oven. 18.The oven charging machine as defined in claim 17 wherein said means forcooling said cantilever beams comprises fluid conduits extendinglongitudinally through said beams, and means for circulating a coolingliquid through said fluid conduits.
 19. In an oven charging machine forcharging a horizontal coke oven through one of the door openingstherein, a car supported for movement along fixed tracks extending infront of said oven, oven charging conveyor means mounted on said car forreciprocal movement between a retracted position in front of said ovento an extended position projecting through said one door opening andinto the coking chamber of said oven to a position adjacent the otherdoor thereof, said charging conveyor comprising in combination a pair ofendless chains, a pair of elongated cantilever beams, support meansmounting said beams on said car for reciprocal movement thereon betweensaid extended and said retracted positions with one of said beamsextending in closely spaced relation to each of the opposed side wallsof said coking chamber, said beams each supporting one of said endlesschains for movement about spaced parallel endless paths including aconveying run extending along said beams, a plurality of elongatedgenerally parallel drag bars extending between and attached to saidendless chains at spaced intervals therealong, and first motor means fordriving said endless chains about said endless paths and for drivingsaid beams between said extended and retracted positions, bridge meansmounted on said car and extending beneath said conveyor to said one doorto define a support surface for coal to be dragged thereover by saiddrag bars, said motor means being operable to drive said chains and thedrag bars mounted thereto to drag coal over said bridge and into saidcoking chamber to fill said chamber at a substantially uniform rateacross substantially the entire width thereof progressively from saidone door opening to the other end thereof as said charging conveyormeans is propelled into said coking chamber.
 20. The oven chargingmachine as defined in claim 19 further comprising means for mountingsaid bridge for reciprocal movement on said car toward and away fromsaid oven.